Daria: Winter Is Coming
by Meester Lee
Summary: What if some of King Robert Baratheon's illegitimate children in were magically transported to North America before Queen Cersei could have them massacred? What if one of those children was adopted by Benjamin Morgendorffer, Daria Morgendorffer's uncle and her father Jacob's brother? How would a displaced Westerosi girl react to TV's Morgendorffer family? Well, let's find out.
1. Ben Arrives

Daria Winter Is Coming Part One

Winter Is Coming: A Daria/Game Of Thrones Crossover. Suppose that those of King Robert Baratheon's illegitimate children living in King's Landing and the nearby Crownlands were magically transported from the city and the nearby countryside to continental North America, and that later some of their pursuers followed them there? And suppose one of those children took shelter with Benjamin Morgendorffer, Jake Morgendorffer's older brother and Daria Morgendorffer's paternal uncle? This is her story. It is set in the mid-1990's, not after January, 2017.

Disclaimer: I do not own the property rights to either Daria or to the Game of Thrones. Characters, plot, background and details belong to their respective creators. This work is written for recreation and ego gratification, and the author neither expects nor deserves financial compensation for this work, although positive reviews would be nice. Those readers interested in finding out more about _Daria_ and/or _A Game of Thrones_ should seek out the creator's official books and videos.

Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming

When she thought about it later, she remembered just how ordinary the day had been until after dinner. It was a mid-March day in Maryland, clear and brisk in the morning but rising to the upper fifties after school let out. She'd had to walk to walk home alone that day; Jane remained behind for track team practice.

Her Dad had come home early and was cooking dinner when she came home. Later she thought that some angel or spirit had been whispering in his ear that day: dinner was actually edible and the frozen dinners stayed in the freezer. Quinn had had a date scheduled that evening, but the young man who was going to take her out called to cancel and she chose to remain home. She went up to her room either to sulk or to peruse her magazine collection.

Daria had done some chores and worked on her homework before dinner. Her father had made a stew. Somehow, he'd resisted the effort to improvise and, miracle of miracles, the stew had turned out to be tasty. He'd also prepared cooked vegetables and had decided to go lightly with the herbs. After the dinner and the cleaning-up, Daria sat down with her parents to watch television on the big screen in the living room.

Helen was sitting down on the other couch reading a couple of briefs she'd brought home from the office. They concerned a couple of claims cases that were as likely to move to litigation if the opposing sides couldn't reach a settlement. Whichever way things went, Helen wanted to be ready. She heard the doorbell ring, looked up, and saw that her husband was already headed for the front door.

Jake remembered that he was relaxing with a drink. He'd done well on a marketing job, had gotten a referral, and the new prospect looked interested in his preliminary proposal. He chose to cook dinner to relax and to celebrate his success. He'd made a resolution to stick with the recipe this time and had avoided cooking a fiasco; in fact, he'd been complimented for his efforts by his wife and his oldest daughter. After dinner, he and Helen sat down in the living room to watch television, although Helen spent much of her time reading a legal brief. His oldest daughter was with them; sometimes she joined them to watch a little television before going upstairs to do her homework or to work on her computer. His youngest daughter was upstairs, hopefully doing her homework but probably talking to her fashion friends. He idly wondered if he should go upstairs and talk to her about school work, but then decided that was Helen's job.

Daria remembered that her dad got up, whether to get another drink or to go to the bathroom, when the front doorbell rang. Her father was already on his feet, so he was the one who walked over to the front door to see who it was.

What was memorable was her father's reaction and his tone of voice towards the visitor.

"Ben?" said Jake.

"Hey, Little Brother!" said the stranger, "it's been a long time." Daria thought that the voice sounded like someone who'd been ill trying to fake being hale and hearty.

"Well, don't stand out in the cold," said Jake, "Come in, come in." He opened the door to let the stranger inside.

Daria turned around to see who it was. It was an older man at the door. He looked a lot like Dad, same chin, same eyes, same coloring, except he looked like he'd been ill.

"Good to see you, Ben!" exclaimed Jake. "It _**has**_ been a long time!"

"I know," said Ben. "It's been years."

 _This was out of the ordinary_. Daria knew that Dad had a brother and sister but she'd never seen or heard from them either here or back in Texas. She put down the magazine she was reading and started to walk towards the front door.

What the hell happened?" said Jake.

Daria was now close enough to get a better look at her uncle. He did look a lot like Dad, although his hair was grayer, his face had a few wrinkles, and his cheeks had sunken in a bit. He also had a bit of a stoop.

"You look like death warmed over."

Ben wasn't alone. There was a girl with him, a pre-teen kid with dark hair, a round face, and wary blue eyes.

"Helen, this is my older brother Ben," said Jake. "Ben, I'd like to introduce you to my wife Helen."

"How do you do?" said Ben. "So you're the woman my little brother married."

"Yes," said Helen, a light note of reproach in her voice. "I'm Helen Barksdale Morgendorffer. You must be Jake's older brother Benjamin."

Daria sensed that her mom was loading a zinger for Uncle Ben, but for some reason Daria was unable to sense, she stopped. Perhaps it was because her mom's attention was distracted by the child at Uncle Ben's elbow.

"So who is the little girl?" said Helen. "Is that your daughter?"

"That's Myrcia," said Ben. "We call her Rikka."

"She's not really my daughter, at least not my biological daughter." He sighed. "It's complicated."

"Come in, sit down," said Jake.

Ben walked over to one of the couches facing the TV and plopped down. Daria thought that he was either tired or in some sort of pain.

"This is my daughter Daria," said Jake.

"Hello," Daria said warily.

"Pleasure to meet you," said Ben. He turned to the little girl sitting next to him.

"Myrcia, this is your cousin Daria," he said.

"Hi," said Rikka. She sounded as wary as Daria.

"Sorry we didn't call you before we got here," said Ben. "We'd been driving all day and your old phone number didn't work anymore."

"Sorry, Ben," said Jake. "I changed carriers after I moved to Maryland and they made me change my phone number."

"So what brings you back to this part of the world?" asked Jake.

"I decided that it was time to go east, come back home," said Ben.

"Home?" said Jake. "The last time Mom said anything about where you were, you were living out west."

"That's over and done," said Ben. "That's part of the reason I'm here."

"You're not driving back to Coalton, Big Brother?" said Jake. "Coalton's still at least three hours away."

"Yeah," said Ben.

"You look beat. Do you have any place to stay tonight?" asked Jake.

"No," said Ben.

"Don't bother with a hotel tonight, you can stay with us," said Jake. "Is that OK, Helen?"

"Yes," said Helen.

"Have you guys had anything to eat?" said Jake. "We've got some leftover stew."

"I'd like some," said Rikka. "I'm still hungry."

"We had some chicken nuggets at a fast food place a couple of hours ago," said Ben.

"Well, let me get you some," said Helen. She then turned her attention to her oldest daughter. "Daria, why don't you go to Quinn's room and ask her to come downstairs?"

Daria went up to Quinn's room, knocked on the door and entered. Quinn was reading a fashion magazine and talking on the phone with someone; it sounded like Stacy. That was the last time her younger sister got to enjoy life as she'd known it.

Daria took it on herself to interrupt Quinn's phone call. "Quinn, Mom and Dad want you to come downstairs and meet Uncle Ben," she said. "He's here with his daughter Rikka."

"Who?" said Quinn.

"Uncle Ben, Dad's older brother," said Daria. "He'd downstairs with Cousin Rikka."

"Cousin Rikka?" asked Quinn. "Who's she?"

"A kid about eight years old; you'll recognize her when you see her," said Daria.

Quinn returned to her phone call. "Sorry, Stacy, something's come up. Catch you later."

-(((O-O)))—

Quinn followed Daria downstairs. Since her back was to her younger sister, Daria missed her little sister's irritated expression, which changed to surprise when she reached the breakfast room. She saw the unfamiliar man and a little girl sitting down and eating Dad's leftover stew.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," said the little girl, her portion of stew half-eaten.

Quinn watched the older man painfully rise from his chair. "How do you do?" he said. "I'm your Uncle Ben. And the young lady eating dinner is Rikka."

-(((O-O)))—

The next morning was much like the previous morning. Daria and Quinn were in and out of the bathroom, dressed, and went down to join their parents for breakfast before starting to school.

"How are Ben and Rikka?" asked Quinn.

"I guess they're sleeping in," said Jake. "They're probably tired from driving cross-country and I'll let them rest until after we drop you off at school."

Daria opened the back door to see what the temperature was outside. It was sunny like the day before, but chilly.

"Close the door!" said Quinn. "It's freezing!"

"Can Jane ride with us?" said Daria.

"If she wants," said Jake. "You'd better call her first."

Daria called Jane and said that she could ride to school with her and Quinn, but she needed to get ready. They'd be leaving Schloss Morgendorffer in a little bit and that if Jane wanted a ride, she'd have to hurry.

Jane Lane was waiting at the door when she got to the Lanes' house.

"Hey, Daria, Quinn," said Jane. "Hey, Mr. Morgendorffer."

"Hey, Jane-o," said Jake

"So what's the big news?" said Jane.

"My Uncle Ben came over with his stepdaughter and I think he's going to be in town for a while," said Daria. "He showed up late last night and went to bed shortly after he got there."

"He's brought Cousin Rikka with him," said Quinn. "She's cute."

"Who is Uncle Ben?" asked Jane. "One of your Aunt Rita's ex-husbands?"

Daria smirked.

"My older brother," said Jake. "I haven't seen him for a long time. He showed up yesterday evening after driving cross-country and we put them to bed."

"Sounds like my family," said Jane. "We Lanes just show up without calling ahead."

 _It does sound a bit like the wandering Lanes_ , thought Daria.

-(((O-O)))-

Jane brought up the topic again at lunch. Jane had a recent falling-out with Ethan and snubbed the track team tables rather than deal with Ethan while she was eating. "So tell me about this mysterious Uncle Ben," she said.

"Uncle Ben is my dad's older brother," said Daria. "We haven't seen him for years. As a matter of fact, I don't think Mom or Quinn or I ever saw him before."

"Is there a family resemblance?" asked Jane.

"Yep, he definitely looks a lot like Dad, but he doesn't look good," said Daria. She frowned. "He went to bed shortly after Dad made introductions. I think he's sick or something."

"Do you know why your uncle decided to grace you with his presence?" asked Jane.

"I don't know. He just showed up at the door with his step-daughter and asked if he could spend the night. He and his daughter were still sleeping when I got up and got ready for school."

"Sounds a lot like something Wind or Summer would do," said Jane.

"So how old is the kid?" asked Jane.

"She's eight or nine, I think," said Daria.

"Do you know anything about her, other than she's with your uncle?" asked Jane.

Daria fell silent. She didn't know much of anything about Rikka except that she'd been with her uncle, that they knew each other, and that they cared for each other. "Not really," she said. "I get the impression that she wasn't one of his second ex-wife's kids, but neither Uncle Ben nor my parents have filled me in yet."

"Sounds like your uncle is traveling with a mystery girl," said Jane. "Watch out, Morgendorffer, she might be a secret pocket-sized assassin."

"I doubt it," said Daria. "She's too tall."


	2. Breezing Into Mountain Home

Daria Winter Is coming Part Two

Winter Is Coming: A Daria/Game Of Thrones Crossover. Suppose that those of King Robert Baratheon's illegitimate children living in King's Landing and the nearby Crownlands were magically transported from the city and the nearby countryside to continental North America, and that later some of their pursuers followed them there? And suppose one of those children took shelter with Benjamin Morgendorffer, Jake Morgendorffer's older brother and Daria Morgendorffer's paternal uncle? This is her story. It is set in the mid-1990's, not after January, 2017.

Disclaimer: I do not own the property rights to either Daria or to the Game of Thrones. Characters, plot, background and details belong to their respective creators. This work is written for recreation and ego gratification, and the author neither expects nor deserves financial compensation for this work, although positive reviews would be nice. Those readers interested in finding out more about _Daria_ and/or _A Game of Thrones_ should seek out the creator's official books and videos.

Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming

Daria remembered the rest of that school day as being relatively normal. Mister O'Neil's class was as boring and insipid as usual, French went well enough, she went through Algebra without any incidents, PE was boring and she responded with her usual non-participation. The three J's tried to use her as a messenger service for Quinn. A couple of the girls were wearing what they claimed were Westerosi-inspired jewelry. Daria occasionally smirked about that; it had been several years since the Westerosi incursions.

The weather stayed pleasant. She had to walk home alone again from school; Jane had track practice. She walked to her house and saw that her Dad's car and an unfamiliar car with Nevada plates were parked in the driveway. She opened the door, quickly pressed in the security code on the panel for the burglar alarm and walked to the kitchen for a soda. It was quiet downstairs. Daria glanced outside and guessed that her parents, Uncle Ben, and her cousin were all out somewhere. There was a note on kitchen table:

"Family meeting: 7 PM. It's important.

Mom and Dad."

There was still the better part of three hours before the meeting. Daria went upstairs to her room and started working on her homework. She got most of her homework done in the next couple of hours, pausing around 6:50, at which point she placed book markers in her schoolbooks and knocked on her sister's door.

Quinn must have arrived some time after that. Daria didn't keep track of her younger sister's movements. Quinn had her own keys and knew the burglar alarm code as well as she did. Quinn characteristically was on the phone. She looked over at her older sister in annoyance as if to say "What do you want." Daria lifted her coat sleeve to show her wristwatch and tapped it meaningfully.

"I have to go now," Quinn said sweetly to whoever she was talking to on the telephone. "I'll talk to you later."

-(((O-O)))-

Surprisingly, both Uncle Ben and his stepdaughter Rikka were both in the living room.

"As you kids know, we decided to call a family meeting this evening," began Jake.

"Uncle Ben, it's nice to see you here," said Daria. "But what are you doing here?"

"I'm the reason for the meeting," said Uncle Ben.

"I'm sure you guys are wondering why I showed up after so many years," said Uncle Ben.

" _As a matter of fact, we were,"_ thought Daria. _"We haven't seen or heard from you for years, then one day you turn up on our doorstep unannounced."_

"The short version is that I'm a goner. I've got cancer," said Ben. "I decided to come back East and die with family."

"Can't the doctors do anything about it?" asked Helen.

"No, it's too far spread," said Ben. "The docs can go to work but it's too far spread; they'd only prolong my dying and I'm not brave enough to linger that long. I don't want heroic efforts to keep me alive. When it looks like the end, I want to die in a hospice, not an effing hospital bed."

"Jake, I'm asking you and Helen to take care of Rikka after I'm gone."

"That's a great honor," said Helen, "but isn't there anyone else? Doesn't Rikka have any other family besides you and her ex?"

"There's nobody else," said Ben, "nobody else in the country and we can't send her back where she came from."

"So where is Rikka from? Is she a Russian orphan or something?" asked Daria.

"She's Westerosi," said Uncle Ben.

Quinn surprised Daria with what she said next.

"Like is she one of King Robert's kids?" said Quinn. "I mean like she's got the eyes, the cheekbones, the jaw, and the hair. I can believe that she's one of his kids. That is so cool."

The other Lawndale Morgendorffers were stunned into silence.

Uncle Ben smiled. "Jake, Helen, you've got pretty sharp kids," he said. "Don't let anybody tell you different."

"We know that already," said Helen, maternal pride mixing with a touch of smugness.

Daria still had trouble finding her voice.

"How?" she said.

"Did you ever hear of Mountain Home?" said Uncle Ben.

"I've heard of a couple of them," said Daria. "There's the one in Texas, and there's the one in—"

"Cibola," said Uncle Ben. Daria's eyes widened. Cibola was the first state west of Texas. Mountain Home was a small resort town located in the Anahuac Mountains, a "sky island" that still sported pine forests at its highest elevations. She'd heard of that Mountain Home and what happened there.

"Breeze, who was my wife at the time, and her daughters and I were living in Mountain Home when Rikka and her mom crossed over from their world over to ours."

"That was one of the places where the kids and the Gold Cloaks, the Lannister guards, crossed over too, wasn't it?" said Daria.

"Yeah," said Uncle Ben. "It was."

-(((O-O)))—

 _ **Flashback**_

The old Chevy station wagon rumbled laboriously up the steep grade from Tierra Bajo, then sped up as the road leveled out around 7500 feet elevation. It rolled past the highway sign that read "Mountain Home 5 miles."

Inside, Breeze Morgendorffer was trying to calm her two restless daughters. "We're nearly there," she said to her husband. "This will be good for you and for the girls. Clean mountain air, good vibes, none of that materialistic crap."

"Mom, did we really _have_ to move?" said Melanie.

"Yes, we needed to leave," said Breeze.

"I _liked_ Boulder," said Jade, the younger of Breeze's two daughters. "I wish we stayed. I had to say goodbye to all my friends when we moved."

"Just like last time," she added accusingly.

"Things will be better here," said Breeze. "You'll be happy here and you'll make new friends. I promise."

 _I hope so_ , thought Ben Morgendorffer. _At least I hope this isn't another one of Breeze's wild goose chases._ Breeze was constantly trying to seek out spiritual experiences in new and strange places. He'd met and married her in California. They'd moved several times since then, once in-state, then to Taos, and then moved to Boulder after they got priced out, and now they were going to try Mountain Home.

Ben loved his wife and he loved both of her daughters. He wasn't quite so spiritual as Breeze was, even though that was one of the things that attracted him to her. Still, despite the fact that he chose to own little and traveled lightly, he found the moving from one place and resettling in another to be burdensome. It was certainly a strain on the girls. He wondered if the move from Boulder had been all that necessary. A thought came to him then: perhaps Enlightenment didn't have to require some place out on the fringes.

Mountain Home had once been a mountain resort for people fleeing the heat of El Paso, Texas and Cibola's El Dorado. The area around it was what some environmentalists called a "sky island", a cool oasis where people could avoid the heat and dust of the lower elevations. Back in the days before automobiles became plentiful, people used to take day-long rail excursions from El Dorado to the meadows near the town to enjoy the cool, then rode the trains back downhill in the late afternoon. Its popularity faded as automobile traffic picked up and newer, flashier resorts opened elsewhere in the Anahuac Mountains. The town went into decline as the nearby lumbering operations closed and people went elsewhere. People still sheltered from the heat there, but Mountain Home became a touristic backwater. Lately, though, Mountain Haven had begun to gain cachet as a New Age destination.

Breeze had heard of Mountain Home even before she and Ben moved the girls from Taos to Boulder. There was supposed to be something about the clear air and high elevations that was healthful and the clear starry nights were said to help meditation. There were also rumors that sometimes people in Mountain Home and the surrounding area could catch glimpses of other worlds.


	3. Ben Goes Downhill

Suppose that those of King Robert Baratheon's illegitimate children living in King's Landing and the nearby Crownlands were magically transported from the city and the nearby countryside to continental North America, and that later some of their pursuers followed them there? And suppose one of those children took shelter with Benjamin Morgendorffer, Jake Morgendorffer's older brother and Daria Morgendorffer's paternal uncle? This is her story. It is set in the mid-1990's, not after January, 2017.

Disclaimer: I do not own the property rights to either _Daria_ or to _A Game of Thrones_. Characters, plot, background and details belong to their respective creators. This work is written for recreation and ego gratification, and the author neither expects nor deserves financial compensation for this work, although positive reviews would be nice. Those readers interested in finding out more about _Daria_ and/or _A Game of Thrones_ should seek out the creator's official books and videos.

Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming

They didn't move into a house immediately. Neither Breeze nor Ben had scouted out the town beforehand to search for housing. They had planned to stay in a cheap hotel in town while they looked. Their plan ran aground on reality; even the cheapest, most basic hotels and inns boosted their rates as things started heating up in the lowlands and their budget couldn't afford the strain. They found a place down in Tierra Bajo and commuted uphill to scout out someplace at or near Mountain Home. Breeze was disappointed by the hotel's grubbiness and noisy location; the nearby rail and highway traffic was a constant reminder of the machine culture she detested. Her daughters, on the other hand, were more than consoled by the fact that the motel had cable and a decent channel selection.

They did find a place at Mountain Home: a cabin once owned by a recluse that had since died. It was not out in the woods all by itself like Breeze had hoped: it was set in a cluster of cabins about forty yards apart. They got it for a nice rate. Ben quickly discovered just why: the owner had let it run down and it badly needed repairs. He soon set to work setting things right. Melanie and Jade assisted him as best they could, Melanie being in early adolescence, Jade in her tween years. Breeze found the noise distracting and went into the village to make friends and network with Mountain Home's New Age community.

The Morgendorffers found that nature was still very close at hand. They already secured their trash cans against raccoons much like they had back in Taos and Golden, but they soon learned from public notices set out by the Forest Service that their trashcans faced bigger raiders. Breeze belittled the notices until she saw bear-sized paw prints on the Elliott's garage doors.

The bear problem inspired a town meeting. Both Ben and Breeze went to it, Breeze as a member of the New Age block, Ben for himself. One of the old-timers spoke up and called for a bear hunt to eliminate the problem. His idea was hotly opposed, by Morgan, one of the leaders of the New Age faction and now one of Breeze's new friends.

"Nature was here first!" said Morgan.

"Maybe," said Ben, who'd used a well-deserved day off to go down to Cochise County's History Museum and then read up about the community he'd moved to. "But this area was heavily logged up until forty years ago and most of what we see around here is younger growth."

"Don't quote timber company propaganda!" said Morgan.

"I saw pictures at the history museum," Ben replied. "The area around our house was mostly clear-cut."

Morgan gave him a dirty look and late that evening Breeze told him that he should have been more supportive.

"I wasn't calling for bear hunts," said Ben. "I don't mind bears—as long as they stay out of town and away from our houses."

A week or two later the local newspaper, a weekly tabloid, published a story about a bear, or several different bears, breaking into people's houses. For the first time Ben could remember in ages and despite the fact that he hadn't owned a long gun since he left his parents' house and that he disliked pistols, he wondered if he should consider taking firearms training on the off chance that he might have defend himself or his family against a bear that had gotten inside his house.

-((O-O))—

By the end of the summer, the cabin had been sufficiently fixed up so that Ben and his family could sit back and enjoy the area around Mountain Home. School started and Melanie and Jade started the trudge to the bus stop to be driven to school. Whatever hopes about Enlightenment Breeze had for the area, enlightened thinking hadn't penetrated to the younger generation. Both girls, particularly Melanie, grumbled that not only was the school's social scene a bore, but most of their peers were mountain red-necks.

In spite of Melanie's and Jade's discontent, Ben liked this time in Mountain Home. The village had its moments of beauty: the cottonwoods turning yellow with the change of the season, the first, light snowfalls of the late autumn, and often the beautiful snowscapes when it snowed hard enough and the weather grew cold enough for the snow to actually stick. Now that had adjusted to the higher altitude and had put the cabin into shape, he could enjoy the beauty on his morning runs. Not that Mountain Home was a real Shangri La. The village had its share of normies, grouches, bigots, hell-raisers and jerks.

The bear problem continued to worry Ben. The Cibolan wildlife commission followed Colorado's example and used a two-strikes-and-you're-dead for ursine break-in artists: after the first offense, the offender was tranquilized and then removed far from the nearest settlement, after the second, he or she was put down. There were several more break-ins and the town council had asked the wildlife commission to authorize a bear-hunt. Several bears were killed in the following weeks, although one of them seemed to have been caught red-handed breaking into someone's kitchen.

Ben wasn't too sure that the right bears had been put down or that the raiding was over. Bears were large and unpredictable creatures. He drove downhill to Tierra Bajo to take pistol-firing lessons. He decided that he'd learn to shoot down there, and that he'd pay for his lessons in cash.

The gun shop was just south of Tierra Bajo's downtown, in a poorer block mostly composed of struggling businesses, although the gun shop looked like it was doing all right. It not only sold firearms but had an indoor firing range. Ben slunk into the gun shop like a man who'd gone astray and was coming home to face the fireworks. He frowned in distaste at the usual sort of signs lampooning the President, the First Lady, and so-called "environmental whackos." To his surprise, there was a woman behind the counter, an attractive blonde about his age. Her looks weren't model-quality, but she was certainly attractive.

"Can I help you?" she said.

"I'm looking for a pistol," said Ben. "One with a heavy enough punch to stop bears."

"No bears around here," she said.

"I live uphill," said Ben. He'd already learned that people from Mountain Home, at least the newcomers, had a poor reputation in Tierra Bajo. Saying that you lived uphill was supposedly a way of saying that you weren't a hard-core New Ager.

"So why are you looking for a pistol?" Dianne asked skeptically.

"I decided that the bears weren't enlightened," he said. Dianne stopped whatever she was going to say and started laughing.

"You aren't planning to go out and shoot them, are you?" she said.

"Not if I don't have to," said Ben. "I'd prefer to run away from the bears, but I want to be prepared if they break in and my family and I can't get out. Other than that, I'd be just as happy if the pistol stays in its hiding place and never gets fired."

The woman's eyebrows raised. Ben wondered if it was the sort of answer she was used to.

"The first thing to do is to carefully back away from the bear," said the woman.

"That's Plan A," said Ben. "I want to learn how to use a pistol if Plan A not only doesn't work and they get inside and trash Plan B."

"I like your attitude," said Dianne. "You're not trying to be a wild-eyed cowboy or an instant gunslinger. You take this seriously."

"Did you ever take any firearms training?" she said.

"Years ago, back when I lived at home in Pennsylvania. My Dad taught me and then I took NRA-sponsored classes," he replied. I did a little shooting with rifles and shot guns since then, but I don't currently own a firearm.

She smiled at him. "Dianne," she said.

"Ben," he replied. "Ben Morgendorffer."

"Did you take any pistol training before?" asked Dianne.

"Not really," said Ben. "My father tried to teach me how to use a pistol. It didn't go very well. He was always yelling at me about my posture and how I aimed it."

"If you really plan on using a pistol that can stop bears indoors, I'd recommend something big and heavy," said Dianne. "I'd go with something at least as big as a .45."

"I was thinking that way myself," said Ben.

Dianne gave him a quirky smile. "So do you plan to buy something today or do you plan to shoot first and shop later?"

"The latter," said Ben.

"Well, business is slow this morning, so let's go over to the gun range." She went to the front door, locked it, and up a sign that said CLOSED next to the window.

She made him walk over to a chest high bench across the room from a set of targets. There was a pistol that looked like an old Army .45 lying on the bench. Ben saw it and frowned in disapproval. _Careless_ , he thought.

"Let's start with your posture," she said. She handed him the pistol. He hefted it, then decided that something was off about it, although he didn't know what.

"This is one of those replica 45s they sell to people who don't want to own real ones."

"Oh," he said.

Despite Mad Dog's hectoring and withering criticism, Ben still remembered most of the basics about the proper stance for pistol-firing. Dianne used her hands to correct his position. Still, he found the woman's perfume and close contact bothersome.

"Jeez, you're jumpy," said Dianne. "Can you relax?"

 _I'll try_ , thought Ben, _but I still hear the Old Man yelling in my ear and you're too damn distracting_.

"Just stand there," said Dianne. Ben stood there, the dummy pistol pointed at the target.

Dianne could see the tension in his body language. "Breathe," she said. "Breathe."

She didn't let him fire a real one until the third lesson. Ben looked at the results and scowled.

"Don't let it get to you," said Dianne. "You're not trying for an Olympic medal. You're just a guy aiming at a target."

"My posture stinks," said Ben.

"Actually your posture is pretty good," said Dianne. "I've seen newbies come in with a lot worse."

He took more lessons and gradually got better.

"I'm probably way off from where I ought to be," said Ben.

"Not bad," said Dianne. "When you aren't flashing back to the shit your dad was dumping on you when he tried to teach you how to shoot, you're a decent shot."

Dianne pronounced him ready to go shopping. He declined her offer to buy a new pistol at the store and shopped around. He found a scuffed-up military-style 45 at a pawn shop, decided he liked it, and bought it. He brought it back to Dianne's gun shop and had it cleaned and checked out. He also bought two extra clips and bullets, then drove back to Mountain home. He did not tell Breeze that he'd bought a large-caliber handgun and that he kept it in the house, even though he kept it locked in a hiding place he'd made behind the picture and that he kept it unloaded.

By late November he realized that the bears had gone into hibernation for the season and that he could take the pistol out of its hiding place and take it down to Tierra Bajo and put it in the gun safe for the season.

By that time, it was hunting season. Despite the summer hikers and the town council's hopes of siphoning off some of the ski traffic from Sky City, a nearby ski resort, deer hunting was one of Mountain Home's lifelines. Unlike issues like air pollution and a currently-dormant proposal to open up the forest to mineral prospecting, opinion among Mountain Home's New Age residents was fractured. Some residents, mostly male, not only acknowledged hunting as part of primal human behavior, but also recognized the threat to the forest ecology posed by over-grazing.

Others vehemently opposed hunting and the village's efforts to attract the hunting trade. Morgan, Breeze, and a woman named Crystal lined up behind animal-rights activists to oppose it. Crystal was particularly vehement about it.

"They're celebrating the killing of wildlife!" she exclaimed.

Ben thought the woman was a fool. He'd grown up in a mountain town and while he had not been a participant in Coalton's hunting scene, he recognized the need for deer management. His private opinion was that many of Mountain Home's New Agers were city-bred and had no idea as to what was what once you got beyond the city limits. Not that he respected most deer hunters either; in his opinion most of them were idiots with high-powered rifles who were likely as not to fire on some rancher's horses or cattle instead of anything with antlers.

Deer season closed, but not before he and Jade saw a couple of deer carcasses tied down to the tops of station wagons being driven down to a deer processor's for meat and their skins. Jade started crying. Ben hugged her shoulder, but he didn't know what to tell her.

Just before Thanksgiving, Morgan opened a class on dreams and dream interpretation. Ben decided to participate to keep Breeze happy. He wasn't the only guy there, there was a guy named Arawn and a husband named Anselhm.

High school was a long time ago, and for the first time in years, Ben felt the temptation to skip on the homework. He resisted it and tried to work the assignments anyway. Most of Ben's dreams were immemorable and he didn't write them down. There were exceptions, usually involving the Old Man dumping on him and his sister, then topping it off by yelling at little Jakey. He'd left home as soon as he could, but he'd left his sister and little Jakey behind.

One night he had a particularly memorable dream. He was a kid again and back in Coalton. He saw he was in that big field north of town, the one he had to walk and walk and walk to get to if he wanted to go there. There was a big deer there, the biggest stag he'd ever seen in his life. The stag stood there looking around the field like he owned the place. The stag was not only the size of a horse, but he had some impressive-looking antlers. The stag looked at him and gave him a nod of acknowledgement. He was surprised to see gray hairs around the stag's muzzle. The stag then walked off several paces. Ben continued to look at it. Deer were skittish around people in Coalton, particularly around deer season. He continued to look at it the majestic animal. Suddenly, the stag's knees collapsed and it fell to the ground. Ben walked towards it and saw that there was blood seeping out of the stag's mouth. The stag looked at Ben as if it was asking it for help. _How_ , thought Ben. _I'm not a veterinarian, and I sure don't know how to take care of does and fawns._ He stood there perplexed until Breeze accidentally poked him and woke him up.

Despite his skepticism as to the significance or the dream and the utility of the classes, he carefully wrote down his dream and brought it up at the next class.

His first attempt to interpret it was shot down by Morgan.

"Well I'll tell you what I think," said Crystal. "I think your dream means that the deer were talking to you and telling you that you should join the anti-hunting activists."

 _I think it means something else_ , thought Ben. _Something bad has gone down somewhere_ _but you neither want to hear what it might mean or even think about it_.

-(((O-O)))-

Author's notes. Mountain Home is loosely based on Cloudcroft, New Mexico while Tierra Bajo is loosely based on Alamogordo, NM. So far as I know, the real Cloudcroft doesn't have much of a New Age scene.


	4. The Fat Stag Died

Suppose that those of King Robert Baratheon's illegitimate children living in King's Landing and the nearby Crownlands were magically transported from the city and the nearby countryside to continental North America, and that later some of their pursuers followed them there? And suppose one of those children took shelter with Benjamin Morgendorffer, Jake Morgendorffer's older brother and Daria Morgendorffer's paternal uncle? This is her story. It is set in the mid-1990's, not after January, 2017.

Disclaimer: I do not own the property rights to either Daria or to the Game of Thrones. Characters, plot, background and details belong to their respective creators. This work is written for recreation and ego gratification, and the author neither expects nor deserves financial compensation for this work, although positive reviews would be nice. Those readers interested in finding out more about _Daria_ and/or _A Game of Thrones_ should seek out the creator's official books and videos.

Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming

He'd called Mom after Hanukkah. She was glad to hear from him, asked him when he'd come by and visit her, and told him that little Jakey was still languishing in Texas. She said that she'd written down his telephone number and that she'd call back when she could find her address book. She did call, but Breeze never gave him the paper with his phone number; she said that she'd lost it.

Christmas came. Neither Ben nor Jade were Christians. Ben was a non-practicing Jew, Breeze had come from a family of agnostics. Still, the girls liked the holiday and they celebrated it, although Breeze occasionally called it a Yule tree. She and the girls got together and made a holiday wreath while Ben put up the tree and strung the lights. Together, the family decorated the tree, wrapped present and then opened them on Boxing Day. For all that it was a cozy little Christmas, Ben kept having the feeling that he should be hanging another stocking for somebody else.

The year turned. Mountain Home's ski season was already underway. The town's skiing facilities were modest and they usually fought a losing, bruising battle to draw tourists away from better-known resorts like Taos and Ruidoso. Ben had found part-time employment as a maintenance and handyman for the hotels and for one of Mountain Home's three modest strip-centers, while Breeze attempted to sell her New Age writings and handicrafts.

Not to say that they were hermits. Ben socialized at the local café while Breeze participated in some of the New Age activities and occasionally brought guests home, including a photographer from Back East named Vincent Lane, who'd come to photograph the sunsets on Los Niños Peak. Ben remembered Vincent's visit because he'd tripped over him and his photo gear one morning on the way to work and also because he'd posed them together and later sent them prints. Melanie and Jade still hated Mountain Home and wished they'd move back to Boulder, Taos, or California.

The dream interpretation classes had ended before Christmas and Ben balked at taking another one. He'd grudgingly come to believe that some dreams might have significance but teachers like Morgan had no intention of dealing with anything that didn't fit in with their pre-conceived notions. January would not have been a good time to persuade him to take classes anyway; he and Breeze had several quarrels about money and Ben reduced her to tears by saying that he was concerned that Mountain Home was proving to be yet another dead end. Late in the month he woke up from a dream he couldn't remember when someone spoke in his ear and said that the fat stag had died. The voice was male. There was nobody but him, Breeze, and the girls in the cabin and it took him a long time to get back to sleep.

By the middle of March, a warm spell had put an end to Mountain Home's ski season. The snow started melting not only on the mountain slopes but also on the flat ground surrounding the town. There was still snow here and there, but the roads were no longer iced over during the day and the snow cover that had blanketed the ground had large bare patches where the snow was exposed to the heat of the sun most of the day.

March also brought another problem. There had been mountain lion sightings not only in the nearby national forest, but also on the ski slope. There were also rumors that the mountain lions had started prowling the outskirts and a couple of dogs went missing. After the Dimmits' cocker spaniel went missing, Ben called for a family meeting and set out a new rule.

"I hate to do this to you, girls, but I don't want you walking alone at night," said Ben. "Not with the mountain lion around." The girls responded with mutinous looks but said they'd obey. The following Monday, Tricia Carver knocked on his door and told him that she really needed to talk to him. Breeze was away and the girls were visiting friends, but he invited her inside for coffee.

"I'm really concerned about my Dad," she said.

"What about?" said Ben. John Carver was in his early eighties, a World War II veteran, and still vigorous for a man his age.

"I think his mind's going," she said. He's not only forgetting day to day stuff, but once in a while he sees things."

"What sorts of things?" said Ben.

"He thinks that somebody is out there and trying to kill him," she said.

"I'll keep an eye on him," he said. "But…" he began and then trailed off.

"Does he have any firearms?" he said.

"He used to have a hunting rifle, but he passed it down to Rusty before he had cataract surgery," said Tricia. "I think he's still got a pistol and some ammunition from the War."

"Maybe you ought to bring those over here," he said.

Tricia brought the pistol, an Army .45, and a couple of clips around noon the next day. John Carver's pistol looked much like the one currently resting in a gun safe down in Tierra Bajo. He meant to put it in his hiding place in the locked cabinet behind the picture in the master bedroom, but Breeze was puttering around that day and he couldn't hide it. He went to sleep that night worrying about the .45 and hoping he'd get a chance to put it safely away.

The next day the world went sideways.


	5. Because The Truck Wouldn't Start

Suppose that those of King Robert Baratheon's illegitimate children living in King's Landing and the nearby Crownlands were magically transported from the city and the nearby countryside to continental North America, and that later some of their pursuers followed them there? And suppose one of those children took shelter with Benjamin Morgendorffer, Jake Morgendorffer's older brother and Daria Morgendorffer's paternal uncle? This is her story. It is set in the mid-1990's, not after January, 2017. 

Disclaimer: I do not own the property rights to either Daria or to the Game of Thrones. Characters, plot, background and details belong to their respective creators. This work is written for recreation and ego gratification, and the author neither expects nor deserves financial compensation for this work, although positive reviews would be nice. Those readers interested in finding out more about _Daria_ and/or _A Game of Thrones_ should seek out the creator's official books and videos. 

This chapter rated "T" and upwards for language. 

Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming 

Part Five: Because The Truck Wouldn't Start 

It started as a typical Monday morning, or at least it did until Ben and Breeze were reminded that this particular Monday was a state holiday and that there would be no classes. Breeze worked part time and called in to her boss and asked to work on a different day; her boss gave her the morning off but told her that she could come in that afternoon. Ben kissed his wife and the girls goodbye and went out to his truck to drive into town. He had trouble starting the motor. The charge was weak. He really should do something about it, he told himself. The motor turned over on the second try and he drove into town.

Ben had a couple of handyman jobs at one of Mountain Home's modest commercial blocks, took care of them, and then drove back to the cabin. Melanie set off for town, leaving the girls in his care. He then went into the cabin's small kitchen to prepare the family dinner: a stew. Despite the hypocrisy of limiting the girls' television time, Ben thought nothing of turning the radio onto the sports channel. He was getting ready at add some vegetables when he felt the world go wrong. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before; it was like someone or something had twisted the fabric of space and time to some unnatural multidimensional shape. Ben felt dizzy and disoriented. He let go of the chopped vegetables and and put his hands on the counter to keep from falling to the floor. The sensation only lasted moments, then the world began to return to normal, howbeit with several reverberations.

The girls had felt it too. "Dad, what happened?" said Melanie.

"I can't tell you," said Ben. "I don't know."

Jade came over from the girls' room. "Dad, what happened?" she said.

"I don't know," he repeated.

He turned down the heat on the stove to let the stew simmer while he washed the vegetables again. He told Melanie and Jade to set the table and was making sandwiches for them when he heard the two-toned noise that had put him on edge during the Cold War go off, once, twice, three times. _It's probably a test_ , he thought. _At least we don't have to do those duck and cover drills I did back in Coalton_.

Ten minutes later, the same twisting of reality happened all over again.

"Ow!" said Jade. "Stop it!"

The phenomenon faded away.

Ten minutes later, Ben gave a sigh of relief. "I think that's over," he said.

His relief was interrupted by the radio. "This is the Emergency Broadcast System" said the recording Ben had heard so many times before.

 _Whatever_ , thought Ben.

The audio changed from a recording to an actual announcer. "This is _not_ a test. This is _not_ a test. The Sheriff of Cochise County has announced a County-wide State of Emergency for residents of Cochise County. The Governor is expected to extend the State of Emergency to the surrounding counties shortly."

"An army of armed intruders has appeared in Mountain Home. They have attacked local residents and are believed to be spreading out into the surrounding areas. Residents are asked to leave as quickly possible or stay in their homes and secure them as quickly as possible. Do _**not**_ answer the door to strangers of let them in."

"I repeat. An army of armed intruders has appeared in Mountain Home. They have attacked local residents and are believed to be spreading out into the surrounding areas. Residents are asked to leave as quickly possible or stay in their homes and secure them as quickly as possible. Do not answer the door to strangers of let them in."

 _Holy crap_ , thought Ben He wondered just how long ago these intruders appeared and how far out they'd spread. His first decision was to gather up the girls, get them in a truck, and drive them to Bitter Creek. He turned off the stove and said "Girls, drop everything. We're leaving. Now. No excuses."

"We're leaving?" Jade said incredulously.

"Yeah, right now," said Ben. "Get into the truck."

"Melanie!" he yelled. "We're going! Into the Truck. RIGHT NOW!"

Melanie climbed down the steps from the loft and gave him a look of incredulity.

"Into the truck, Mel," said Ben. "Something bad's happened in town and we need to get out."

He and the girls hastily went out to the truck. Melanie opened the passenger side door and she and Jade got in.

Ben ran around the truck to the driver's side, got in, fastened his seat belt and put the key in the ignition.

"Let's get out of here," he said.

He turned the key. The starter motor made half a turn, then stopped. Ben tried again. This time the starter motor only made half a turn and yellow lights and an error message lit up on the dashboard: "Insufficient Charge."

 _No, no, no, damn it!_ thought Ben.

He tried it once more. No doubt about it, the battery was dead, and at the _worst_ possible time.

What to do? He looked over at the Elliott's. Their car was gone. He turned around and stared towards the other side. Carver's old truck was in the driveway but he hadn't seen it move in years.

"Girls, we're going back into the house," said Ben.

"But Dad," said Melanie.

"No arguments," he said. 'NOW."

They went back to the cabin. Ben unlocked the door and everyone went back inside.

"Girls, go upstairs, pull down the blankets and comforters and be quiet," he said.

Ben shoved the kitchen chairs out of the way. He'd push the table against the door to make a barricade, not that it would stop anyone from coming in through the kitchen window or any others on the ground.

He had to think.

He was on his fifth breath when someone started pounding frantically on the side door. By the sound of it, the pounding sounded like someone short and lacking the strength to knock as hard as a grown up. The kid started yelling in some foreign language, not Spanish, and not French or Apache either. Ben doubted that it was a pocket ninja. It was probably one of the area kids. He went to the door, unlocked it, opened it, and was nearly bowled over by a dirty little girl who ran inside, gave a quick look around the kitchen, then started climbing the stairs to the loft.

Ben decided that the girl wasn't an immediate threat. He'd deal with her, but not yet. He decided he needed to lock the door first. Besides, the kid was already upstairs.

 _Big trouble out there_ , he decided. _Big trouble not far away_.

He went over to the lesser-used cabinet and felt around the upper shelf where he'd stashed the .45 the other evening. To his relief it was still there.

He took the pistol and the extra ammo over to the kitchen table, first releasing the clip, then opening the chamber to see if Carver had loaded any rounds. He hadn't, but the automatic was filthy and by the color of the grease Ben could tell that the weapon hadn't been cleaned or fired in quite some time. Was the ammo any good? He hoped so. He looked at Carver's automatic in something like despair and wished he had his own gun, which he knew all too well was locked in a gun safe down in Tierra Bajo.

He couldn't do anything about it. Carver's gun was the only one he had, and it would have to do until the deputies or the state police secured the area.

 _Shit!,_ he thought.

"Dad, what are you doing?" asked Melanie. She had come down from the loft. "Who's the girl?"

"I don't know," said Ben. "She was out there, she looked like she was in trouble, and I let her in. I want to call the cops about her, but I don't think it's safe yet."

"Whose gun is that?" she asked.

"It's Mr. Carver's," he said. "I hope to God we don't need it."

"See my cell phone over there?" he said, waving his hand. "Pick it up and go back upstairs. Then call your Mom. Tell her to stay out of town and either drive down to Bajo or Bitter Creek and _**stay**_ there. We'll drive down to join her when it's safe."

"Dad, you're scaring me," said Melanie.

"This is a scary situation," said Ben. "I'm scared, too. Go back upstairs, call your Mom, then call 911 if you can get through."

Melanie stood there in bewilderment.

"Melanie, trust me," he said. "Upstairs, cellphone, now."

The girl turned around and started climbing the stairs. Moments later, Ben heard the sound of heavy footsteps and the sound of a pair of male voices. They weren't speaking English.


	6. The Battle of Mountain Home

Daria Winter Is Coming Battle of Mountain Home

Suppose that those of King Robert Baratheon's illegitimate children living in King's Landing and the nearby Crownlands were magically transported from the city and the nearby countryside to continental North America, and that later some of their pursuers followed them there? And suppose one of those children took shelter with Benjamin Morgendorffer, Jake Morgendorffer's older brother and Daria Morgendorffer's paternal uncle? This is her story. It is set in the mid-1990's, not after January, 2017.

Disclaimer: I do not own the property rights to either Daria or to the Game of Thrones. Characters, plot, background and details belong to their respective creators. This work is written for recreation and ego gratification, and the author neither expects nor deserves financial compensation for this work, although positive reviews would be nice. Those readers interested in finding out more about _Daria_ and/or _A Game of Thrones_ should seek out the creator's official books and videos.

Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming

 _The stuff's gonna hit the fan_ , Ben thought despairingly. He took off the safety and chambered a round, then put the pistol on the table. Thank God or someone that Carver had had two clips and that both had bullets in them. He put the clips in his jacket's pocket so he could get quickly at them, then picked up the pistol.

The guys put in an appearance, peering through the window. They looked like something from an old movie or a Renaissance festival, except far more thuggish and dangerous-looking. They pounded on the door.

He'd have ignored them save for the fact they saw him.

"NO!" said Ben, raising his voice. "GO AWAY!" One of the guys said something to the other and both of them laughed. One of them backed up and rushed at the door. He made two tries then gave up. _The dead bolt's worth something_ , thought Ben, although he didn't think they were giving up. One of them walked over to the tall window, grinned, then backed up. He came at it running. It shattered.

"Melanie call the cops!" yelled Ben. He'd already backed away and moved to the side while the goon was coming up from his rush, his arm extended in the pistol grip Dianne had taught him. He aimed at the first goon's main body mass and pulled the trigger. The pistol made a loud BANG when he pulled the trigger. It kicked much harder than his own piece. The goon was thrown backwards by the impact. Ben made an instant decision: he didn't just want this guy down, he wanted him _dead_. He fired again into the goon's torso.

 _That's one of them_ , he thought. _Where's the other one?_

The other one decided to get in through the side door. He shoved against it once, twice. Ben fired his first and only warning shot, aimed to the side away from the goon's head. The goon ignored him. Ben wondered if some poor fool had fired a warning shot at this (censored) and if the (censored) ignored it. The goon made a third rush at the door and the frame splintered. The goon was in.

 _An angle shot, tougher_ , thought some part of Ben's mind. He backed away and tripped over one of the kitchen chairs he'd tossed out of the way earlier and fell on his rump. The goon gave him a nasty grin and hefted his sword. It was a race between the swordsman finding his balance and Ben drawing a bead on him. Ben fired, hitting the swordsman in the torso. A horrid thought came to him as the swordsman went down: _Suppose there's three of them_. He fired again.

 _One way to find out_ , thought Ben. He jumped and twirled around. He didn't see any more swordsmen. He was alone in the kitchen and living room area, a dead swordsman by a side door, another swordsman shot and bleeding to the side of his front door.

Incredibly, the first swordsman was still alive. He looked at Ben and said something.

 _Nothing doing_ , thought Ben, clenching his teeth. _I'm not going to risk my life trying to patch you up while you play possum then shank me while I'm patching you up. Not with three little girls under my care_. _I think you're dead anyway_.

He hoped the girls hadn't gone totally catatonic. "Melanie!" he yelled. "Have you got the cops yet?"

"Yeah," said Melanie. "My God, Dad, what happened?"

"I shot two of them," said Ben. "Could you tell the cops to get over here? I don't know if there are any more of them out there."

The swordman was still alive He looked at Ben again, tried to look in the direction of Melanie's voice, then his eyes glazed over and then he went unconscious.

There wasn't anything to do now but wait. Wait and hope that there weren't any more swordsmen nearby. Wait and hope that one of them would get the idea of setting their cabin on fire to smoke them out.

Time passed. Ben risked walking up to the shattered window to listen. He heard the sounds of sirens as well as several gun shots. Rifles, he suspected. _The resistance is fighting back_.

He walked back and seated himself at his station on the stairs to wait.

"Girls, I think we're safe, at least for now," he said.

Time passed. Melanie crept to the edge of the stairs leading down from the loft.

"Dad?" said Melanie.

"What, Melanie?" said Ben.

"I think you ought to put the gun down when the deputies get here," said Melanie.

"Why?" said Ben.

"Well, I know this sounds stupid but the deputies are going to be scared and they might think that you want to shoot them, too," said Melanie.

Ben smiled. Sometimes he thought that Breeze's older daughter acted like someone from another planet, but sometimes Melanie acted wise beyond her years.

He walked over to the wall phone and tried to call Breeze.

She finally picked up. "BEN!" she shouted. "What the Hell happened?"

"Somebody tried to break into our house," he said. "I stopped them. The girls and I are safe. But we're going to have to stay somewhere else tonight. Could you get a room in Bajo for tonight?"

"What the Hell?" said Breeze.

"Later," he said and hung up.

"Dad," said Melanie, "can we come down now?"

"Not yet," said Ben. He hoped the girls didn't have to go potty. He waited. He heard more rifle shots and more sirens.

He heard the sound of an automobile on his driveway.

 _The sheriff or somebody_ , he decided. He put the gun down.

The car door opened. Ben stood up, his arms spread wide. He hoped they'd think he wasn't a threat.

"Mr. Morgendorffer!" shouted a male voice.

"Who is it?" Ben replied.

"Cochise County Sheriff's Department!" shouted the voice.

"In here!" said Ben. "I'm unarmed!"

"You'd better come in through the window," he added. "The front door's sill locked."


	7. Ben Is A Good Father

Daria Winter Is Coming Part Seven  
Ben Is A Good Father

Winter Is Coming: A Daria/Game Of Thrones Crossover. Suppose that those of King Robert Baratheon's illegitimate children living in King's Landing and the nearby Crownlands were magically transported from the city and the nearby countryside to continental North America, and that later some of their pursuers followed them there? And suppose one of those children took shelter with Benjamin Morgendorffer, Jake Morgendorffer's older brother and Daria Morgendorffer's paternal uncle? This is her story. It is set in the mid-1990's, not after January, 2017.

Disclaimer: I do not own the property rights to either Daria or to the Game of Thrones. Characters, plot, background and details belong to their respective creators. This work is written for recreation and ego gratification, and the author neither expects nor deserves financial compensation for this work, although positive reviews would be nice. Those readers interested in finding out more about _Daria_ and/or _A Game of Thrones_ should seek out the creator's official books and videos. 

Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming 

"So what happened next?" asked Helen. "How did you get custody of Myrcia?"

"A long story," said Ben. "The first thing that happened was that the deputies got us out. After they finished searching the cabin and then declaring it a crime scene, they bundled us into a couple cars and drove us into town. Rikka clung onto the girls and wouldn't let go. Of course by the time the deputies got there, Rikka had put on some of Jade's old clothes. Neither Rikka nor the other two girls said anything and the deputies acted like we were all a family so we stayed together."

"I don't think Myrcia began to feel safe until we'd been in town a while. That's when we found out what happened to her mom."

"What happened?" said Quinn.

"The guards killed her," Rikka said stonily. "The Lannister guards."

"When the Lannister guards arrived in Mountain Home, they started chasing down and killing any of Robert's children they could find," said Ben. "Then they started cutting down any Westerosi women they could find, then they started…"

Daria saw the looks of horror on her parents' faces and watched her sister's complexion start to turn green. They'd seen and heard some of the television and radio reports about the Westerosi incursions back when they were living in Highland, but they hadn't paid that much attention. They really hadn't had any reason to at the time, but were having more of the horror brought home.

"Excuse me," Daria cut in forcefully. "TMI."

"TMI?" said Ben.

"Too much information," said Daria. She'd read that the Gold Cloaks had then started hacking down not only the Westerosi women and children, but any women and children they could find nearby, not to mention anyone who tried to interfere.

In other circumstances the Westerosi might have been ignored; mass murders weren't an everyday occurrence in the US, but they were not unknown. Were it not for the fact that one group of Westerosi mothers and children and their Lannister pursuers had appeared in the middle of a secure US Air Force base and that another group of mothers and children appeared on the National Mall, the media might have ignored the event and moved on to the next bright and shiny distraction. But Cersei's cruelty caught the media's attention and opportunistic politicians saw the incursion as an opportunity to bash the President. The event had played on broadcast and cable news for weeks afterwards. Not that the politicians could do really do anything; eventually they passed laws mandating sterner immigration controls for people crossing into the US from Mexico.

The surviving mothers and children might still have been rounded up and detained indefinitely were it not for the fact that not only the President but several leading churches had called for the mothers and children to receive political asylum. Several conservative politicians leaning towards incarceration and deportation were reminded of King Herod's Massacre of the Innocents in Biblical times from church pulpits and strongly encouraged to see the error of their ways by conservative clergymen temporarily turning their attention away from the abortion wars. The mothers and children received asylum and green cards, the surviving guards incarceration and federal as well as state criminal charges.

"So what happened to your Mom?" Helen asked Rikka.

"She died," said Rikka, who'd been quiet up to now. "The Red and Gold Cloaks killed her."

"I'm so sorry," said Helen. Both Helen and Jake had the good sense or the good grace to remain silent for a while. So did Daria and Quinn.

Helen eventually broke the silence. "So why didn't you stay with the other mothers and children?" she asked.

"I didn't know anybody else when I got here," said Rikka, speaking up for the first time. "My Mom was the only woman from my village. Everybody else was from the City or from Ravenswood. I didn't know anyone from the city and the people from Ravenswood are all bozos."

"They moved the surviving woman and children down to Tierra Bajo," said Ben. "We were already down there because the Sheriff had marked our house as a crime scene. The girls and I visited her every day. Breeze started seeing her, too. It didn't take long for us to decide to get custody of her."

"How did you manage that?" asked Helen. Her legal specialty was corporate law, not family law, but she wondered how a man of modest means and limited connections like Ben Morgendorffer could get custody of the little girl.

"The Old Man helped," said Ben.

"The Old Man?" said Jake. "But Dad's been dead for years."

"I know," said Ben. "I wasn't completely out of touch, Jakey. I do talk to Mom and I went to the funeral."

"So how did the Old Man…" Jake began .

"Congressman Orlov," said Ben.

"So who is Congressman Orlov?" asked Jake.

"Well, I'll tell you," said Ben.

 **Flashback**

Ben Morgendorffer was a man who avoided politics. That had sometimes been a hassle when he was growing up. His Dad hated the Reds with a passion and thought that Democrats and liberal Republicans were all Commie-coddlers. Of course his Dad being a Chinese prisoner during the Korean War, that was a given. Ben had watched the growth of the anti-Vietnam War movement during his two years of college, worried about the draft, but kept his opinions to himself both at home and at work.

He'd grown slightly more active after he'd married Breeze. While he wanted nothing to do with the animal-rights groups, he did sign petitions for some environmentalist causes, particularly if they aligned with the interests of anglers and other outdoorsmen. And of course being a husband and a dad, he supported good schools for the girls.

He hadn't done much to connect with the Cibolan political scene. He had changed his residency from Colorado to Cibola, applied for a new voter registration, but still didn't know what the local issues were. He did know that the Congressman for his part of Cibola was a guy named Gregor Orlov, a descendant of White Russians who'd fled the Bolshevik Revolution, and that Orlov was supposed to be pretty conservative, but he hadn't had much to do with him.

He certainly didn't expect to hear from him and was surprised to get a phone call from his office.

A quick canvass of his buddies at the local café convinced him that he really ought to see his representative.

The Congressman welcomed him into his office.

"So you're the Mad Dog's son," said Congressman Orlov.

"Yes, sir," said Ben, "although I do have a younger brother named Jake."

"Did you get along with your father?" asked Congressman Orlov.

"No, sir," said Ben. "Dad was a difficult man. It was his way or the highway."

"Do you consider yourself to be a chip off the old block?" asked congressman Orlov.

"No," said Ben. "I decided that I didn't want to walk in his footsteps. That's one of the reasons I left home."

"How did you know him, Sir?" asked Ben.

"Mad Dog was the sergeant in the unit I'd been posted to," said Orlov. "We were also in the same prison camp for over a year. I hated his guts but I respected him."

"Oh," said Ben.

Breeze remained uncharacteristically quiet, something that Ben was grateful for.

"I owe him my life," said Congressman Orlov. "He was still an SOB, even behind barbed wire."

"My Dad had his issues," said Ben.

"Some people consider you to be a hero for killing those two intruders," said Congressman Orlov.

"I don't," said Ben. "I only did what was necessary. I shot those two men because my girls were in danger and I didn't think that those guys were either going to listen to sweet reason or walk away."

"So why did you have a gun in your house?" asked Congressman Orlov.

"I was holding it for a neighbor who was afraid her father was losing it. I wouldn't have used it at all if my truck didn't have a dead battery."

"I understand that you have your own pistol," said Congressman Orlov.

"I do," said Ben. "I bought it as a last-ditch weapon to use if bears broke into the house and my family was in danger."

"So how did you feel after shooting those men?" said Congressman Orlov.

"I felt sick. I hated doing it, and I wish I hadn't had to," Ben replied.

Congressman Orlov looked at Ben and said nothing.

"Ben is a good man," said Breeze, speaking up.

Congressman Orlov raised his hand to signal her to stop talking.

"So why are you taking an interest in our case?" said Ben.

"Because despite the fact that I hated your father, I still owe him one," said Congressman Orlov, "and I want to repay that debt."

"Ben's a good father," said Breeze.

"I believe you," said Congressman Orlov, "and I'll do what I can to see to it that you gain custody of Miss Myrcia Waters."

-(((O-O)))—

Author's notes:

Some White Russians (the losers from the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917) did indeed migrate to the US.

Also, I am going to have to put this story on hiatus for a while. I hope to pick it up again in a couple of months.


	8. Matters Left Unsettled

Suppose that those of King Robert Baratheon's illegitimate children living in King's Landing and the nearby Crownlands were magically transported from the city and the nearby countryside to continental North America, and that later some of their pursuers followed them there? And suppose one of those children took shelter with Benjamin Morgendorffer, Jake Morgendorffer's older brother and Daria Morgendorffer's paternal uncle? This is her story. It is set in the mid-1990's, not after January, 2017.

Disclaimer: I do not own the property rights to either Daria or to the Game of Thrones. Characters, plot, background and details belong to their respective creators. This work is written for recreation and ego gratification, and the author neither expects nor deserves financial compensation for this work, although positive reviews would be nice. Those readers interested in finding out more about _Daria_ and/or _A Game of Thrones_ should seek out the creator's official books and videos. 

Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming 

"Like did you speak English when you came over?" asked Quinn.

"No," said Rikka. "I spoke Andal."

 _Well, duh, Sis_ , thought Daria. She already knew that Andal was the most common spoken language in Westeros. She thought of how little Rikka must have felt suddenly displaced from her village to Mountain Home. _That must have been something_ , thought Daria. _Suddenly thrown into a strange new world, guys who've just killed your mom and are now trying to kill you, and you can't speak the language._ The thought of it made her want to shiver.

"How did you learn?" asked Quinn.

"Well, Melanie and Jade helped," said Rikka.

"Breeze's daughters," said Helen.

"Yeah," said Rikka.

"Melanie and Jade were a big help," said Ben. "They spent hours teaching her English. They not only taught her how to speak it, but also how to read and write."

"You couldn't read when you came over here?" Helen said incredulously.

"No," said Rikka. "Neither my mom nor I knew how. I knew about reading and writing, but I couldn't do it myself. I couldn't do much math, either."

"So how old were you when you came over?" asked Daria.

"I was six," said Rikka. "I'd had my sixth Name-Day about a week before. It was the first time I lit a candle in the Sept."

"What's a sept?" asked Quinn.

"It's kind of like a church," said Rikka. "I think you guys would call it a temple."

Daria knew that the Westerosi incursion was just over four years ago. Daria guessed that her new cousin was now nine or ten.

"Myrcia, can I ask you what your mother's name was?" Helen asked.

"Sure," said Rikka, eying Helen. "It was Rennah. Rennah Waters."

"Did she work?" asked Helen.

Rikka gave Helen the sort of look that Daria soon learned was one of her " _Are you some kind of idiot?_ " looks.

"My Mom was a maid, what you guys call a house-keeper," she said. "She worked in the Stag's Rest. That was one of the two inns in my village. That was how she met my father." The Lawndale Morgendorffers let that subject pass in silence, although Daria gave Quinn a precautionary tap of the foot and a shake of the head before she said anything.

"You go to school, don't you?" said Helen.

"I'm in the fourth grade," said Rikka. "I'll be in the fifth grade next year."

"Do you go to church?" said Helen.

"No," said Rikka. "I hold to the Faith of the Seven. I don't worship the Crucified God."

"I'm sure Ben's told you," said Jake, "but he and I and Mom and Sis are Jewish."

Rikka looked at him and raised seven fingers.

 _Well, now we know where we stand there_ , thought Daria.

"If we stay here I want to enroll her at the local elementary school," said Ben.

"That can be arranged," said Helen. "Do you want to stay here?"

"You can if you want to, Big Brother," said Jake, "But Mom would be thrilled if you wanted to go on to Coalton."

"I wouldn't mind living closer to Mom," said Ben, "but Coalton slid even further downhill from what is was when I left. It still has crappy hospitals and I suspect that the schools are even worse."

"About Rikka's adoption.." Ben started.

"Let's hold off on the legal process for a couple of days," said Helen. "You're not at Death's Door are you?"

"Just down the hall," Ben replied. "The doorway's thirty feet away."

"Let's rest and get to know each other," said Helen. "In the meantime, let's work out new sleeping arrangements."

"Ben, you can stay in the guestroom, just like you did last night. Myrcia, you can stay with one of the girls."

"She can stay with me," said Quinn. Daria wondered whether that would last. She decided to keep her mouth shut. She was beginning to suspect that Rikka had a very strong will.

"Well, that's settled, then," said Helen. "We'll call another family meeting in a couple of days to discuss things."

"Since you're staying here," said Helen, "Let's bring in your stuff. Girls, I expect you to help Ben and Myrcia to bring in their things."

Bringing in Ben and Rikka's stuff took several trips. True, Ben travelled lightly, but he packed more than somebody just going on vacation. For her part, Rikka had less stuff than either Daria or Quinn, but she still managed to fill a couple of suitcases and two smaller bags with her things, plus the soccer ball and softball glove that Rikka had somehow packed in Ben's battered-looking sedan's trunk. Daria caught Quinn's worried looks at Rikka's beat-up suitcases and decided that she might want to stay home and keep her bedroom door open to catch the Fashion Club's reactions.

The Family Meeting adjourned and Uncle Ben's car unpacked, Daria went upstairs, but not before she tried to call Jane. Jane was out, and so was Trent. She supposed that Mystic Spiral had a gig that evening. She went back upstairs, turned on her computer, and started journaling. She wrote several pages, saved her files, powered it down, then decided to call it a night.

She brushed her teeth, turned in and slept soundly for a couple of hours until somebody jostle her mattress.

"Go away, Quinn," she growled.

"It's not Quinn, it's me," said another voice. _Rikka_.

"So what are you doin' in here?" said Daria.

"I decided that I'd rather sleep than listen to Cousin Chatterbox," said Rikka.

Even half-asleep Daria chuckled silently in amusement.

"That's a Queen-sized bed, isn't it?" said Rikka.

"Yeah," said Daria.

"So move over," said Rikka.

 _This kid had big ideas_ , thought Daria. "You forgot to say the magic word," she said.

"So move over _please_ ," said Rikka.

 _This kid is sarcastic_ , thought Daria. Half-shapen thoughts that she and Rikka were going to have to settle who was who and what was what drifted to the edge of her consciousness, but Daria decided that this wasn't the time to start Fight Night. She moved over and little Rikka slid in under the sheets.

"Thanks," said Rikka. "G'night."

"G'night," Daria acknowledged, feeling the girl's shape and warmth just inches away under her sheets. To her surprise, Daria fell asleep moments later.

-(((O-O)))-

Author's Notes: _Winter Is Coming_ is still going on hiatus, however, I discovered that I still had a completed chapter I could post before I resume work on this story next year.


	9. It's Elementary

Daria Winter Is Coming Its Elementary

DISCLAIMER: _Daria_ is the creation of Glen Eichler and is the property of MTV Viacom. _A Song of Ice and Fire_ is the creation of George RR Martin and is the property of George RR Martin and HBO. I own neither franchise, and I neither expect nor deserve financial compensation for this work of fiction (Although good reviews are always nice). Myrcia (Rikka) Morgendorffer is an original character. 

Daria: Winter Is Coming*Daria: Winter Is Coming*Daria: Winter Is Coming 

On Saturday, Daria woke up just after 8:00. She just was not a morning person. Rikka's side of the bed was already empty; clearly she wasn't going to waste her time waiting for Daria to wake up and get going. She walked into the bathroom, showered, then walked back to her bedroom to get dressed.

She then tried to call Jane. The phone at Casa Lane kept ringing and ringing and ringing, but nobody picked it up. _Jane's not a morning person_ , she thought. _Neither is Trent_. Then Daria remembered. Jane was probably at school practicing with the track team.

She went downstairs to get some breakfast. Her parents were already up. So was Rikka. Her Dad and Rikka were seated on the living room couches watching television; Helen was gathering up some files that she'd drop off by her law office. Daria glanced at the screen and was surprised: she thought that Rikka would probably have watched cartoons like she used to when she was Rikka's age, but the channel was set to some sporting event. By the look of things, it was a track meet and Rikka was watching women runners with rapt fascination.

The next heat took their places, then crouched at their starting positions. The camera panned out and the runners were off. One of the runners wore the yellow and green of Brazil. Rikka watched her pull out front with delight and started shouting "GO! GO! GO!" The Brazilian runner increased her lead, then kept it for the rest of the race. Rikka watched her cross the finish line, then pumped her fist and shouted "YES!".

"You watch that stuff?" Daria said dubiously.

"Yeah," said Rikka. "I like track meets. I like running too."

Helen looked up to see the women athletes clad in shorts and jerseys racing around the track and gave her husband the gimlet eye. "Jakey, did you set the channel?" she asked.

"No, I did, Aunt Helen," said Rikka.

"I thought you'd watch cartoons or something," said Helen.

"This is more fun," Rikka replied. "You guys have a _**lot**_ more channels than we did in Vegas."

"Whatever," Daria replied.

Helen raised her eyebrows and said nothing.

"So Daria, have you done your chores yet?" asked Helen.

"Not yet," said Daria. "I'm waiting for everybody else to get up."

"Well, I think you can get started," said Helen. "Quinn needs to wake up. I suspect that Ben is a sound sleeper."

Ben came downstairs half an hour later.

"Good morning, Ben," said Helen. "Do you want any breakfast?"

"Nothing much for me," said Ben. "I'd like to take a walk after breakfast."

"I'd like to see a little of this neighborhood," said Ben. "It's been a while since I lived anywhere with a lot of green."

Ben and Rikka stepped outside and started walking down the street. He quickly learned that Glen Oaks was a busy street. Not that he had to worry about Rikka jumping out in front of fast-moving cars; she'd learned not to while he and Breeze were still married.

He didn't have to warn Rikka about "stranger danger" and the need to keep a safe distance from strangers' cars: Rennah had pounded that lesson into her daughter's head back in her village, although these days Rikka had relaxed the rule a little bit. Rikka could still talk to strangers but not get into their cars.

He'd almost forgotten how lush the landscape was back east. He and Rikka hadn't seen much in the way of tall trees since they'd left Mountain Home, and the ones there had almost all been long-needled pines.

As much as he wanted to see the neighborhood where his little brother and his wife had moved to, Ben discovered that he tired easily and asked to return to the house after a few blocks. The disease was eating at him; he used to have more endurance. Still, Lawndale looked nice. He wished he was up to seeing more of it on foot.

Despite her disappointment as to how short her walk had been with Papa Ben, Rikka enjoyed it. Lawndale was interesting. Some of the yards were so orderly that they reminded her of the more prosperous tenant farmers and small-holders, although she still found it strange to look at the green grass and not see kitchen gardens out the front like she would have back at the Crossing. Others looked like what she considered American messes.

Daria would have liked nothing better than to go upstairs and read but decided that she ought to show the kid around this part of Lawndale, especially if she was going to live here for a while.

Daria tried calling Jane around noon. Trent was awake and answered the phone but told him that Jane wasn't yet back from track practice. He thought she might be back in about an hour or so.

Daria finally got Jane around 1:30.

"Yo!," said Jane.

"It's me," said Daria.

"At least you sound like you are," said Jane. "You could be an imposter. For all I know, you're Brittany or that Sandi Griffin in disguise."

"It's me," Daria replied irritably.

"Come on over. It's your chance to meet the newest Morgendorffer."

"I think I'll do that, if you don't mind my using your bathroom," said Jane. "The water heater's broken and I hate cold showers."

Jane came over a short time later wearing a warm-up suit and carrying a gym bag. She caught the look of approval on Rikka's face but had no idea as to how she'd earned it.

The newest Morgendorffer didn't look like either Jake, Quinn, or Daria. She looked to be somewhere between eight and ten years old, brunette, with a round face and blue eyes. She was still kid-sized, but Jane thought that she'd grow up to be taller than either Quinn or Daria. She reminded Jane of herself, at least in terms of hair and eye-color, but the girl's face was too different to qualify her as a Jane Lane mini-me.

"So how was track?" Daria said sardonically.

"Lots of running and sweating," said Jane. "Mrs. Morris came up with some routines that had even me panting. I'm glad I don't smoke."

"So this is the kid you're talking about?" she said, glancing at Rikka and earning a glare from the youngest Morgendorffer.

Daria did the introductions. "Rikka, this is my friend Jane, Jane Lane," said Daria. "Jane, this is Myrcia Morgendorffer."

"Hi!" said Rikka. "Call me Rikka."

"Pleased to meet you, kid," said Jane. "I like the eyes and the hair color."

Rikka might have been a kid, but she caught the irony. "Thanks," she said. "I like it too."

"Jane and I are best friends," said Daria. "We go to school together at Lawndale High School."

"So where do you come from?" asked Jane.

"I was born in a village near a castle called Targen's Holdfast," said Rikka. "It was a couple of days away from King's Landing."

Jane looked puzzled. Geography was not one of her strongest suites, unless it involved art or if it was someplace her parents traveled to. Targen's Hold didn't sound anyplace normal.

"Westeros, right?" said Jane.

Rikka looked at her with exasperation. "Well, Duh. Yes, it's in Westeros," she said.

"Oh," said Jane.

"My Uncle Ben adopted her."

"Well, welcome to Lawndale, kid," said Jane.

"Thanks," said Rikka. Daria wondered what Rikka thought of Jane. She suspected that Rikka hadn't made up her mind yet.

"So what do you think of this hole?" said Jane.

"Different," said Rikka. "It's so green. Dad and I were living in Vegas before he got sick and decided to come here. I'm glad we're away from the desert."

"So how do you like your aunt and uncle so far?" said Jane.

"They're funny," said Rikka. "I like the fact that they're still together. I like the fact that Aunt Helen calls the shots."

Daria smiled and Jane stifled a chuckle.

"So how old are you?" asked Jane.

"I think I'm ten," said Rikka. "I'm not sure. I might be older."

"You don't know?" said Jane.

"I don't have a, a what you call a birth record," said Rikka.

"A birth certificate," Daria supplied.

"Also, I'm not sure our years are as long as yours," said Rikka.

Daria looked thoughtful. She already knew that Planetos was another planet even before she met Rikka. Just how long was a year for Planetos? She didn't know.

"So what do you like?" said Jane.

"I like playing with dolls," said Rikka, "but I'm getting a little old for them. I like sports."

"What sorts of sports?" asked Jane.

"I play soccer and softball, but I _really_ like running," replied Rikka.

Jane smirked at Daria. "A girl after my own heart. We're going to have to run together someday, but I don't think you can keep up with me."

"Try me," said Rikka.

An older man dressed in loose slacks came into the kitchen while Daria and Jane were talking to Rikka.

"I see you've met my step-daughter," he said. Jane looked at him, saw the family resemblance to Daria's Dad and guessed this must be Daria's Uncle Ben.

"Yeah," she said. "My name's Jane Lane. I'm a friend of Daria's."

"Ben Morgendorffer," he said. "Your last name sounds familiar. Is your dad a photographer?"

"How did you guess?" said Jane.

"It's a long story, but I met him while my ex-wife and I were living in Mountain Home…" he said.

-(((O-O)))—

The following week Ben and Myrcia started the process of enrolling her in elementary school. Rikka was a year or so older than most fourth-graders. She'd had certain challenges that her peers hadn't faced; she'd been illiterate and innumerate when she crossed over from Planetos; most people in Westeros could neither read nor write. Thanks in part to the Mountain Home school system, but more to Breeze's natural daughters, she'd gone a long way towards catching up where she'd be if she'd been born in the US and had been educated in American schools. As far as Daria was concerned, that wasn't saying much; most of her schoolmates were apathetic or stupid.

-(((O-O)))—

On Tuesday, Uncle Ben drove Rikka over to Overhill Elementary School for her first day of classes. Ben's health prospects might be dire, but for now he was still capable of driving his foster-daughter to her new school. Daria accompanied them; Lawndale High was closed that day for a statewide program of testing and evaluation.

She felt a little self-conscious about walking into a Lawndale elementary school with Rikka and her uncle, and she briefly wondered if she should worry about anyone from Lawndale High School seeing her walk into elementary school. She decided that she wasn't going to give a damn; if someone from Lawndale High saw her, they saw her.

She noted a familiar-looking sedan in the parking lot as she and her extended family were walking to the school's main entrance: Sandi's mother's car. There was someone in the back seat looking at something in her lap: Sandi Griffin. Sandi did not look up. Daria chose to ignore her. Daria wondered if Sandi was using this spare moment to do a little studying, but suspected that if Sandi was reading anything of her own free will out in the parking lot, she was probably reading a gossip or a fashion magazine.

Daria briefly wondered why Linda Griffin would use the parking lot of Overhill Elementary, then remembered Quinn telling her that Sandi had a couple of younger brothers. She wondered if one or both of them were in elementary school and what Linda's business was with the school administration.

There was a security guard at the main entrance, to Daria's surprise. Even Highland, a far more dangerous town, hadn't bothered with one. _Not as paranoid as Ms. Li over at Lawndale High,_ thought Daria.

"Can I help you?" she said. Her manner was laid-back and relaxed.

"Yes, I'm looking for the Principal's Office," said Uncle Ben. "My foster-daughter Rikka is supposed to start school today."

They had to sign in, even Daria. Daria knew that Rikka already knew how to read and write and watched as she carefully wrote Myrcia Morgendorffer on the form. The waiting room was on the other side of the security officer's station, and it a little more crowded than Daria expected.

Linda Griffin was here sitting next to a gray-haired boy that looked a bit like her. The boy looked at the small party of Morgendorffers and decided that they were probably not a threat. He fidgeted in his chair.

"Chris, behave!" said Linda, in a voice that reminded Daria of Sandi's.

 _This is one of the Griffin brothers_ , thought Daria.

She wondered if Mrs. Griffin would recognize her. She did.

"Miss Morgendorffer," she said.

"Mrs. Griffin," said Daria.

"And what are you doing here today?" said Mrs. Griffin.

"I'm enrolling my foster daughter Myrcia here," Ben cut in. "I'm Ben Morgendorffer. I'm Jake Morgendorffer's brother."

Linda's eyes rose briefly and started scanning the Morgendorffer party for family resemblances. Her gaze set on Rikka, then over to Ben, then to Daria, and then back to Rikka. _Not much family resemblance there_ , thought Linda, comparing this Ben Morgendorffer's face with little Myrcia's and then Myrcia's with Daria's. Little Rikka had dark hair and blue eyes. _I wonder who_ she's _related to_.

Chris looked up hopefully at Daria. "Is Quinn here?" he asked.

"No," said Daria. "Mom put her foot down and said that today would be a special Take-Your-Daughter-To-Work day and took her to her office. But to keep things interesting, Myrcia is going to be enrolling in the fourth grade." That made Chris sit up and take notice. The new kid was one grade level below him; he'd probably see a lot of her for the next few years. The new girl looked frightened and intimidated by her surroundings; she pressed up against the old guy, who responded by putting his arm around her shoulder. Chris wondered if the new girl was a scaredy-cat. The door to the Principal's Office opened, the Principal's secretary said that the Principal was ready to talk to him and his Mom, and Chris didn't get any more time to wonder about Myrcia Morgendorffer.

Mrs. Griffin came out of the office about half an hour later. An aide opened the door and said "Mr. Morgendorffer? Miss Morgendorffer." Ben and Rikka rose and walked through the door. Daria rose to follow, but the administrators wouldn't let her come in the room. She sat down in the waiting area and started reading the novel she'd brought along.

Uncle Ben and Rikka came out some time later. "It took them a while to process Rikka," he said. "They tried to get me to produce Rikka's Westerosi birth certificate and passport, and I had to talk them out of it. But it's now a done deal. She's now a student."

An aide came over a couple of minutes later.

"Miss Morgendorffer, would you come with me, please?" Daria had to give the aide grudging credit, she managed to make it clear as to which Miss Morgendorffer she was referring to.

Rikka hugged both Daria and her uncle goodbye. Rikka was just below Daria's eyelevel; Ben had to bend down to hug Rikka, then painfully get back up. They then left Rikka to the tender mercies of the school administrators and drove back to Schloss Morgendorffer. Chris Griffin didn't see Rikka Morgendorffer again until PE, when the coach put her on the other team for Dodge Ball.

That was when he found out that he'd guessed wrong about the new girl. Rikka Morgendorffer was no shrinking violet. She was out there and out front. When Chris threw a volley ball at her to tag her out, she didn't dodge. Instead, she caught it with both hands, gave him a ferocious smile, and said "OUT!".

His buddy Carl didn't last much longer. He tried to tag her out with one of the other balls, but Rikka saw it coming and blocked it with the ball she was holding. She then threw the ball she was holding back at their side of the basketball court, tagging out one of the last two girls on the other side. Carl then tried to tag out Rikka when both of her hands were free and was sidelined seconds after she caught it. By the time that PE coach called time, Rikka was one of the last dozen kids still in the game and looked like she'd be willing to go down to the last man standing. She returned to Glenn Oaks that evening with the start of a new reputation.


	10. The Roof, The Roof Part One

Winter Is Coming: The Roof, The Roof Part One 

DISCLAIMER: _Daria_ is the creation of Glen Eichler and is the property of MTV Viacom. _A Song of Ice and Fire_ is the creation of George RR Martin and is the property of GRR Martin and HBO. I own neither franchise and neither expect nor deserve any financial compensation for this work. I am writing this work for my own amusement and ego gratification. Speaking of ego gratification, I find good reviews pleasantly gratifying. If you like what I'm writing, how about writing and posting a nice review? 

Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming*Winter Is Coming 

The cordless phone rang while Ben was watching the sports channel in the living room. Jakey and Helen were running errands and their two daughters were visiting friends. Little Rikka was upstairs. He turned it over to press the "ANSWER" button and glanced at the telephone ID. He'd guessed wrong. It was Mom.

"Hi, Mom," he said.

"No, I'm over at Jakey's," he said. "Didn't you get my messages? I left Las Vegas and came east. Little Brother is putting me up for a while."

"I thought I told you. I'm sick."

"Yes, I saw the doctors," said Ben. "I saw several doctors. It's very serious. It's cancer. The docs back in Vegas talked a good game, but I did some research on my own. It doesn't look good."

"No, I'm not by myself. Rikka is with me," he said. "So's Jakey, Helen, and his two girls."

"They're out, but they'll be back in a couple of hours," he said.

"No, Rikka's going to stay with me," he said. "If things get really bad, I want her to stay with Jakey and Helen.

"Mom, she doesn't _have_ any folks to go back to," he said. "Not only was her Mom murdered, but there's nobody else here from that village she came from."

"I'm sorry, Mom, but Breeze took Melanie and Jade with her when we divorced. I haven't heard from them since Breeze took them with her."

"You have?" he said. "How are they doing? Rikka and I miss the hell out of them, and we'd love to talk to them."

"They've come east?" he said. "Where are they?"

"Jade's still living with Breeze?" he said.

"And Melanie's in college? Where is she?" he said.

"Harrisburg?" he said. "That's not too far from here. I'd be thrilled to see her again."

"If the girls do call, please write down their phone numbers and please let me know," said Ben.

"Yes, I'll tell Jakey you called," he said.

I love you too. Goodbye, Mom," he said, then ended the call. 

-(((O-O)))— 

School was called off the day after Rikka enrolled at Overhill Elementary school when the mid-Atlantic Seaboard was hit by a massive ice storm. The Morgendorffers' power and phone lines remained on, but the storm forced school cancellations. Helen started out for the office after she laboriously scraped the ice off her windshield, but turned around and came back when she called the office and got a recording saying that the office was closed on account of the weather.

School did re-open on Thursday afternoon. It was still cold and windy, the temperature remaining in the mid-thirties. Jake dropped all three girls off at school as well as detouring over to Howard Lane to pick up Jane.

It began to rain again. Daria knew that the temperature was supposed to go below freezing that evening and wondered if Ms. Li would call off school in the morning.

Despite the freezing pre-dawn temperatures, school was on the next morning. Lawndale's road crew had done heroic work keeping the streets from icing over and Lawndale High's custodians and student volunteers had managed to scrape paths from the driveways and parking lots to the school entrance. Daria used the afternoon to go to the library and do some writing. She would have had the library to herself, except that Brittany and Kevin chose to come in to make out. Despite their love-making, Daria managed to ignore them and start work on a paper for social studies. Her concentration was interrupted by an ominous crackling sound; she looked up and saw that the roof was cracking. She glanced around to see if she could get out in time. She wouldn't; barely avoiding giving in to panic, she dived under the desk before the roof collapsed.

Daria, Kevin, and Brittany were lucky; none of them were seriously injured. The library desk Daria sheltered under was a hold-over from a previous school administration and was sturdy enough to stay intact despite the weight of the library roof and its frozen cover. The Lawndale Fire Department was there in minutes, and all three students were extricated from the wreckage. Daria had gotten some bruises, and Kevin and Brittany were spared from more serious injury by the library's bookshelves. After a cursory examination by Lawndale High's school nurse, all three students were released to join the exodus of students heading home. Quinn found her own way home with one of the J's; Jane managed to talk one of her female team-mates to drive Daria home with her.

Ben was at home to greet his nieces. "You're home early," he said, greeting Quinn.

"My G*d, what the Hell happened to you?" he said, taking in Daria's battered appearance.

"The school library's roof fell in," said Daria.

"My God," said Ben. "Were you hurt?"

"I was in the library when it happened," said Daria. "I only took some bruising. I got under a desk in time."

"Did you see the docs?" said Ben.

"I saw the school nurse," said Daria.

"I'll call Jake and Helen," said Ben.

"Please don't make a production of it," said Daria.

"I'm calling them anyway," said Ben.

Jake moved to the edge of hysteria when Ben told him the news and Ben had to calm him down. He then called Helen and told her what had happened. He then learned what his sister-in-law sounded like when she really got angry. Helen hung up and announced that she was coming home.

Daria's adventure was the big news that evening at Schloss Morgendorffer, eclipsing Quinn's latest report on her social life and Rikka's day at Overhill. The local television station rolled footage of the damaged library, the Fire Department trucks, firefighters extricating a shocky Daria, and the mayor and school board officials saying that they were planning to look in on reasons for the library roof's collapse.

The kids were in bed and asleep when the network late night news program reported a story out of Baltimore saying that an unidentified dark-haired male speaking Andal had turned up in the emergency room of Johns Hopkins in Baltimore suffering from a major stab wound. The man had appeared on a gurney in front of the reception desk and had immediately been taken into the operating room; it was supposedly touch-and-go as to whether he'd survive. The man who brought him had dropped him off there had disappeared, and the Baltimore police had asked anyone who had any information about a Quirinus Quigley to contact them as soon as possible. 

-(((O-O)))— 

Author's notes:

This chapter's title comes from a couple of popular songs titled _The Roof Is On Fire_. I used the Cumbia Kings' version.

A note for non-Daria fans: the library roof's collapse comes from the Daria "Fair Enough" episode. I thought that having the roof collapse right after an ice storm not only suited my plot better but was more realistic than having it collapse during a thunderstorm like it did on TV. Moreover, the ice storm, roof collapse, and school closure extends the Lawndale High school year into the summer, which gives Ms. Li some more leeway for planning the Medieval Fair fund-raiser that will pay for the new roof and "further the glory of Lawndale High."

No, I didn't give out Quirinus Quigley's real name. You'll have to guess on your own. 😉


	11. Rikka versus the Fashion Queen Round One

Daria Winter Is Coming Pt Eleven. Rikka vs The Fashion Queen Part One

Disclaimer: I do not own the property rights to either Daria or to the Game of Thrones. Characters, plot, background and details belong to their respective creators. This work is written for recreation and ego gratification, and the author neither expects nor deserves financial compensation for this work, although positive reviews would be nice. Those readers interested in finding out more about _Daria_ and/or _A Game of Thrones_ should seek out the creator's official books and videos.

Author's advisory. This story is about one of Robert Baratheon's bastard daughters and her relations with the Morgendorffer family after she and her mother were brought over from Westeros to the US. There is very little Westeros in _Daria: Winter Is Coming_ , and most _Game of Thrones_ / _A Song of Ice And Fire_ characters are deep background characters, if they play any role in this story at all. 

Daria Winter Is Coming* Daria Winter Is Coming* Daria Winter Is Coming 

The school week ended and everybody was exhausted, despite the fact that Lawndale High's remaining roofing remaining in place. Daria and Quinn got picked up after school while Jane remained behind for track practice.

Rikka was already in the car.

"Hey, kid!" said Daria.

"Hey, Daria, Quinn!" said Rikka. "How was school?"

 _Ten years old and this kid knows how to be sardonic_ , Daria thought with approval. _I guess Planetos isn't good country for breeding happy bubbleheads._

"The roof didn't fall on me again, if that's what you mean," said Daria. "How was yours?"

"Pretty good," said Rikka. "I'm getting caught up with school and I'm making some friends. I miss my old ones, though."

"You had friends back in Las Vegas?" said Quinn. "Cool."

"Yeah," said Rikka, "and back in Mountain Home. I had to leave them every time we moved. I hated that. For once I'd like to stay someplace and have my friends around for years."

Quinn didn't know what to say about that, changed the subject, and started talking with Dad. Quinn's babble covered a wide range of topics, but Daria learned that the Fashion Fiends were about descend on Schloss Morgendorffer.

Quinn hadn't met Quinn's fashionista friends. _This should be interesting_ , thought Daria.

The Fashionistas began arriving about an hour or so later. The first to arrive was Stacy, who apologized and asked if she had come to the wrong house when Uncle Ben opened the door. Tiffany arrived a little later, followed by Sandi. Rikka was there to greet her.

"Well like thank you for letting me in," said Sandi in a tone of voice that made Rikka remember some of the snobby noblewomen who occasionally stopped by the Stag's Rest when her mother was alive.

"Whatever," said Rikka. She'd had to put up with this crap back in the village, but she didn't like it. And it took a split-second to decide that no matter how snooty this girl acted, she wasn't a noblewoman anyway.

"Fashion Club?" she said.

Sandi glared at the primary schooler. _Didn't this urchin know how popular she was?_

"For your information, little girl, I am Sandi Griffin and I am the President of the Fashion Club," she said

To Sandi's consternation, the girl remained unimpressed. Then the girl made a face and said "Do you have a brother named Chris?"

 _What_ , thought Sandi, _this urchin knew her little brother?_ She decided that she wouldn't dignify this urchin with a response.

"You look like him. I wondered what he'd look like wearing make-up," Rikka replied.

"Rikka, be nice," said an older man who'd come out of the Morgendorffers' living room. "She has guest-right." This must be Quinn's Uncle Ben—and this must be one of King Robert's royal brats, she thought sourly. _No wonder he and Queen Cersei didn't adopt them if they were all this horrible_ , she thought.

Sandi wanted nothing better than to tell off this, what was the French word? Gamine? But she wasn't going to get the opportunity today. She turned away and stalked up the stairs. 

-(((O-O)))— 

Rikka was playing quietly in Daria's room after the Fashionistas left. Daria didn't know what time they'd gone home; she'd closed the door rather than have to endure listening to Sandi Griffin hand down another list of dictates for the fashion drones to adhere to.

Their quiet time was interrupted by a knock on the door. Daria was lying on the bed, reading a book.

"Come in," said Daria. Quinn came in with an angry frown on her face.

"Like you were totally rude," said Quinn.

"Me?" said Daria. "I didn't do a blamed thing."

"Not you—her," said Quinn, pointing at Rikka.

"So what did I do?" said Rikka.

"Like you insulted Sandi!" said Quinn.

"So what did she say?" said Daria.

"I told her that she looked like her brother," said Rikka. Something told Daria that that wasn't all Rikka had said.

"Does she?" said Daria. "Does he do drag?"

Rikka glared at Daria. "Of course not," she said. "I just told the Queen Bee that I wondered what Chris would look like wearing makeup and she got all upset."

It was too much. Daria started laughing.


End file.
